Anxiety Spreads Through West Point As Military Combat Roles Are Being Slashed

Cadets stand at attention
at West Point.Robert Libetti/
Business Insider

Anxiety is spreading through the class of 2014 at West Point as
they are slated to graduate into a military that is rapidly
pulling out of military conflicts,
The New York Times reports.

The military drawdown means it's unlikely that many graduating
officers will get combat experience. This lack of experience
means future graduates may not have as many opportunities for
career advancement as those officers who did enter combat in Iraq
or Afghanistan.

This current wind-down closely parallels the U.S. Military
experience at the end of the Vietnam War.

“As Vietnam was winding down, young officers were begging to go
there so they could get the coveted combat infantry badge,” Col.
Robert Killebrew, a defense expert at the Center for a New
American Security in Washington, told
The New York Times. “It’s not so much a thirst for glory as a
professional impulse. When you’re a soldier, if the game is going
to be played, you want to be there.”

The combat infantry badge is just as important today as it was
after Vietnam. Officers who were commissioned in time for
deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan will be significantly more
likely to receive command assignments in conflict zones than
their currently graduating counterparts.